Experienced Santa Cruz Lawyer, James C. Eschen

A member of the California Bar since 1984, I have extensive experience handling business litigation and real estate law matters. I focus on setting appropriate expectations with each of my clients and developing clear plans for moving forward with their legal concerns

I first decided to become an attorney inspired by the way lawyers from Daniel Webster and Richard Henry Dana in the early 19th Century to Thurgood Marshall in the 20th have shaped our country. I now find myself a different kind of lawyer, taking my greatest pride in doing well for my clients. I strive for an elegant simplicity that allows each of my clients the best results they can obtain. I take pride in a well-constructed argument and in a clearly presented case. I ground my legal craftsmanship in a professionalism that requires a deep knowledge of the law, a curiosity regarding people and their affairs, and a compulsion to improve my skills and my understanding. I have chosen to consider the law not as drudgery but as the lubricant of our complex society and an opportunity for me to learn something new every day.

My most memorable cases have involved overcoming challenges rather than shaping great principles. They include succeeding on an appeal of a will contest after an experienced probate lawyer told me my case was unwinnable and stopping a restraining order after a front-page article in the local newspaper badly portrayed my client. Yet as a lawyer few feelings compare to prevailing at trial after completely committing myself to a case for a month or longer.

Bar Admissions

California 1984
Connecticut 1990 (inactive)

Education

University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, California, 1984
Juris Doctor, 1984
Honors: Cum Laude

Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
Bachelor of Arts, 1980
Honors: High Honors in History

University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
Master of Arts, 1990